Automation seen as key to survival in increasingly competitive markets

Organizations that do not embrace modern business automation will flounder and struggle to survive, with approximately half of organizations recently surveyed saying they see automation as key to delivering a rapid rate of change (51 percent), and a similar number (49 percent) saying that automation drives new revenue opportunities.

Those are among the findings of a recent report from research firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA). The study, sponsored by software provider CA Technologies, is based on an online survey of 1,007 IT and business executives in the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany conducted in June and July 2018.

A sample of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) computer code is displayed on a monitor for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. JSON is a lightweight data-interchange format. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Automation is now a strategic discipline within all enterprises, the study said, with 98 percent of the organizations surveyed driving automation plans across their businesses. However, 59 percent of them have not achieved a highly mature level of automation, and only 18 percent currently have an automation center of excellence.

The successful implementation of automation varies widely across industries, with retail showing the highest level of maturity (70 percent) and manufacturing the lowest level (35 percent).

Organizations expect artificial intelligence (AI) to further increase automation’s value to their processes, with 98 percent of respondents saying AI and machine learning will improve automation. About two thirds said AI and machine learning will leverage data for better decision making and increase overall knowledge through better usage of historical data.